Delays of a Blue Feather
by Mirai Akina
Summary: In which Claire panics over her incomplete house and Skye only wants to spend the rest of his life with her.


_**Welcome, everyone, to yet another one-shot, albeit a bit shorter than my usual ones. Recently, I've been replaying Harvest Moon Cute, and I can't pair my character with anyone but Skye (I mean, back then, I was into Kai, but I couldn't do that pairing anymore). This fanfiction explores one circumstance of Skye's marriage proposal (mainly my version in the game), taking on a more humorous yet dramatic tone. People have said in the past that I write better hurt/comfort stories than humor, and this is one of many attempts to improve on that, so to speak. And it seems that it's becoming a tradition that I upload a one-shot every holiday season. So I'm going to continue that!**_

 _ **As for my updating scheduling, I have just started college, and the amount of work I get is impacting my schedule to write for you guys. And so, now that finals are (almost) over, as a Christmas present to my readers, I will be posting a new chapter for Herald of the Lotus and Vision, as well as finishing editing two chapter of Runo's Alter Ego before the start of the new semester. I apologize for the very long wait. Enough of me rambling, though. Enjoy and please leave a review, follow, or favorite at the end! Because this is based off of my game save, the girl is Claire instead of Jill/Pony.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon Cute or the Harvest Moon franchise.**_

Skye could not exactly remember the date in which he first met Claire.

He didn't meet her the first year she moved in. If he could recall, it was somewhere in the middle of spring the following year (he vaguely remembered the turnips growing in Vesta's farm during that time) that he finally spotted her outside of Lumina's mansion.

When he set his eyes onto the lone farmer, she was visibly fatigued. Her legs struggled to keep her upright, and her eyes, those wonderful, bright blue eyes whose light rivaled the moon, were marred by black bags. Despite her exhausted state, she still saw him. And for a moment, the wind stilled and the trees stopped swaying.

It was, as he put it, fate.

The rest of the year was filled with Claire. Her farm was slowly gaining prestige, and the town all got to know her in a friendlier manner. Part of those relations led her to encounter him during his "robberies" again and again, further entwining the thin string around their pinkies.

When they weren't butting heads, she was up at the most ungodly hour to greet him. Sometimes, she brought her horse, but often she came by herself, holding a different colored curry for him to sample. He didn't know how she knew he wanted homemade curry, especially since he only opened up to her about that part of his life a mere season after their first meeting. Nonetheless, she always had a plate of curry for him, and the times where he had gotten his most favorite dish from her never failed to make his heart skip a beat.

And so, their romance continued in the silence of the night, with only the moon and late night residents as its witnesses.

…

It was Claire's third year in the valley, and she had just successfully brought back the last sprite needed for the Harvest Goddess to return from the Harvest King's spell.

Granted, she didn't expect Sue to come back the way he (or she? Claire didn't know whether or not the Harvest Sprites had genders) did. Deciding only to raise two cows and sheep, she had thought that getting the red Harvest Team back would be difficult. Behold her surprise when Sue popped out after milking her store-bought cow one rainy morning.

Even though she was grateful that the guardian of Forget-Me-Not Valley is safe, Claire felt bitter about her achievement. Her plan for the perfect marriage just gained a full season's worth of time. How was she going to get through the summer without sticking her hand into her rucksack and touching her precious blue feather every few minutes?

Claire knew she should have waited. Her love for Skye was obvious to the villagers, but that didn't mean they all approved. While Muffy, Celia, and Flora all expressed their support (and bless them and their love lives because they all deserved to be happy with the one they loved), some of the older people occasionally gave her a skeptical look, as if loving a thief was unacceptable, no matter his motivations. Of course, that didn't stop Claire from buying the blue feather as soon as she saw it available in the catalog of the supermarket.

The itch to touch the delicate item surged through her again, and she instinctively stuffed her hand into her bag to feel its soft texture. She was obsessed, and she knew it.

The cooking festival was today, and Claire didn't have the time to daydream. Granted that she had no experience in cooking anything other than curry (but she can make some mouthwatering curry), she was determined to show that she was capable of making different dishes.

Too bad the appliance for this year was the oven.

She cursed at her bad luck. If there's anything she can't make, it's baked goods. She had botched everything from cookies to simple toast. Visible comedic tears streaked down her cheeks as she watched Celia take home the title of best chef.

And she didn't even have Skye to rant to. Today was truly a rotten day.

After the competition, she instantly went to bed, not caring about changing her clothes or petting her dog and cat. The frustration at her skills, or lack thereof, caused a few tears to run down her face.

She dreamt of Skye teaching her how to cook. How he would hold her as he taught her how to mix the batter correctly, or how he would reward her efforts with a plate of his most famous curry…

She was unaware of the boy who snuck into her house and left her a life-changing note.

…

" _Tonight, I'm going to steal your heart away._

 _Yours Truly, Phantom Skye."_

Claire stared at the note for a full four minutes.

" _He'll steal my…"_

She then promptly screamed.

This was not how things were supposed to go. He was coming tonight for her Blue Feather, and she, frankly, wasn't ready to give her heart to him.

" _Why is he coming now?! I wanted to wait until autumn to propose, and my bathroom…Oh god, I don't have a bathroom!"_

Her head scrambled through possible excuses for delaying her response, even some that sounded very petty. In the end, her nervousness had actually sped up her working pace, and she finished circling the valley before three. After hastily ordering Gotz to install a bathroom as soon as possible, she collapsed on her bed as she once again thought of a way to deny Skye while hinting that she still wanted him.

Gods, she was a mess.

She held the offending feather in her hand and realized that if Skye didn't find it, then he probably would forget about it. Slightly panicking over the fact that Skye was a phantom thief out of all people, the blonde farmer turned her head to her toolbox.

With a haste that frightened her pets, Claire buried the feather in the pile of seeds, tools, and medicine in her toolbox. Once she was satisfied that Skye couldn't possibly think to look beyond the clutter, she crashed onto her bed, preparing to enter her dream world.

When Skye entered the house, no one was there to greet him. The dog and cat laid at the other end of the house asleep, huddled together in the corner. The thief walked up to Claire's bag and found that the object he desired was no longer in it.

" _Does that mean she already gave it away…? Was I wrong in thinking she was into me?"_

He looked at the sleeping girl. Her eyes had more bags than he ever remembered, and her hair no longer held the sheen he was attracted to. Skye concluded that if she truly gave her heart away, she wouldn't look like that. If that was the case, then where was the feather? Was he imagining things?

Huffing at his predicament, he wrote out another note and placed it on her dining table. Hoping that his fears were wrong and that he probably had mistaken the feather for something else of a similar shape and color, he proceeded to exit her house.

Before he headed out the door, he turned around to take one last glance at his love. She really did look tired, more so than their first meeting, and he couldn't help but want to relieve her weariness, even if just a little bit.

His feet glided him to the side of her bed, and he took the opportunity to stroke her hair, running the strands through his finger. They were incredibly soft, despite her workload and lack of a proper bathroom. The allure of her hair dragged him closer, and soon his lips touched the golden lengths, letting a small pressure press against her head.

"Good night, Claire. I'll come visit you again, when you're ready."

With that promise, he left her warm home for the cold darkness of the night.

…

" _Something got in the way of our love. I'll steal your heart another time._

 _-Skye"_

Claire, like the first time he sent her a note, stared blankly for a few minutes.

And then she fell to the floor in relief.

Skye didn't hate her, at least not yet. She could live with that. After all, it would be worth it once she finished all of the renovations in her house. Claire walks into her kitchen and instantly started to sweat.

How could she not notice that she didn't even have a frying pan yet?

…

Skye was beyond baffled.

It's been a full season since the incident, and Claire was starting to grow distant.

It started with the absence of her curry. She showed up one night to greet him as usual, but she didn't give him anything. Sure, they made small talk, but Skye secretly wanted to sit down on the bridge and enjoy her curry. He didn't ask the girl why, content with his brain's answer of her forgetting due to stress and her increased workload.

Ever since then, she stopped giving him things in general. Sometimes, she didn't even show up to spend the night with him. The heavy feeling of loss settled on him harshly, and often, he dreaded coming to Forget-Me-Not Valley. How can he enjoy his strolls when the girl of his dreams kept plaguing his mind?

Then he began to hear rumors: rumors of the farmer planning to propose to someone.

At first, he didn't believe them. He would surely know if Claire was seeing someone, since the valley was such a small place, and gossip spread quicker in smaller places. He brushed them off...until she walked up to him one late autumn night and presented her Blue Feather.

It was at this that he cracked. She really was going to be taken away by someone else. Failing miserably to hide his sneer, he bitterly asked her if she was going to give her heart away to another person. Claire quietly gasped at his question and tried again to shove the feather into his face. He knew better, though. Walking past her with not so much another word, Skye left her standing in front of Vesta's house.

He didn't see the tears that flowed down her face.

…

" _Tonight, I'm going to steal your heart away._

 _Yours Truly, Phantom Skye"_

Claire glared at his note.

Why bother coming back? Didn't he make it clear he didn't want her heart? Was he also going to rob her the chance to get over him?

She wanted to punch him and cry at the same time.

Work that day dragged on longer than ever before. Claire couldn't find the strength to do her daily duties and often had to jump into the hot springs to freshen up.

By the time she had finished everything, the sun had already set. Feeling the crushing beat of her heart as she walked to her bed, Claire once again stuck her hand into her rucksack and took out the offending blue feather.

Fine, she decided. If Skye wanted to break her heart completely, she might as well let him hear the full extent of her feelings. That way, she could truly move on and find someone else who wouldn't play with her heart so casually.

…

Skye opened the door to Claire's house and found the tired farm girl in front of her bed, looking down at her sleeping dog. Once the door slammed shut, she turned to him, and he fought desperately to keep the flinch from marring his indifferent appearance. The bags on her face were bigger, and the beautiful shade of blue in her eyes had practically vanished. Her hair was all over the place, nothing at all like the neat, collective bundle of golden thread that he fell in love with when they first met.

She took her time walking around the table, keeping her head down as she approached him. The feather was brought out from her back, its ruffled state a result of her constantly fiddling with it. Skye nervously flicked his hair.

"Good evening, Claire."

The blonde farmer stretched her arms out, refusing to look him in the eyes. Skye started to sweat, wondering why his beautiful love is in such a state.

"Claire, what's wrong?"

"Just take it," she urged bitterly.

"Well, stealing the Blue Feather from maidens is my forte."

To his surprise, she didn't move or hide the feather away. Her hand remained outstretched, but her body started to shake.

"You really have no idea what my feelings are, do you?"

A long silence erupted from the tension. Skye, dumbfounded for once in his life, kept staring at the feather, but he didn't move to grab it.

"Huh?"

"Honestly, why did I fall for a smooth-talking thief? I bet you do this all the time to girls who happened to be head over heels for you." Claire started to ramble. "I tried so hard to gain your affections, to know you better, to see that cute smirk on your face."

"Claire?"

"I waited so long to propose to you! And after I managed to ignore the voice in my head, ordering me to not tell you, you just shove my love back into my face, as if it didn't even matter to you! If you wanted to break my heart even more, then do it now, before I crush it for you!"

"Claire!"

"What?!" she desperately screamed.

"You're really giving it to me?" Skye tentatively asked.

"Of course I am! I'm not like you, leading people on like that," she retorted.

"Thanks…"

He still didn't move to grab the feather. He moved closer to her, wanting to lift her head to gaze into her blue orbs.

"You know, I've been attracted to you since we first met."

Her head shot up instantly. She watched as his smile grew warmer, almost making her want to embrace him and bury her face into his neck. Before Claire could do so, Skye pulled her into his arms and began to stroke her hair.

"I'm used to girls confessing their love to me, but I don't know how to do it myself. I was so afraid that you might give your Blue Feather away to somebody else. So I came here to steal it away from you," he whispered in her ear, hoping that one of their misunderstandings would be resolved.

"Oh...I thought you were one of those people who likes to break girls' hearts for fun…"

"You wound me, Claire. Is that the impression I give off?"

"Well...yes," she hesitantly replied, feeling a comedic bead of sweat drip from her forehead.

Skye couldn't help but chuckle. Oh, his precious angel is truly something else. "Well, now you know why I'm here. How about you? Care to explain why you ignored my note the first time?"

He felt her tense like a frightened cat, causing him to tighten his grip on her. Stroking her back, Skye waited until she calmed down.

"I panicked. I didn't finish everything that I wanted to do, and after finding out that you know I had it...I struggled to tell you that I'm not ready."

"You should have said that then."

The farmer flushed at his blunt tone. The two entered another phase of silence.

"So what were the things that you needed to do?" Skye finally asked.

Claire's face darkened at his question. "Umm...my house didn't have all of its renovations finished, and my kitchen was missing some utensils. I mean, who wants to live in a house that doesn't have a bathroom or a complete kitchen?"

So that was the issue. Skye laughed again, this time at the absurdity of her thinking. "My dear Claire, I would be happy to live in this house, even if it doesn't have everything. You have already proven to be a wonderful breadwinner." The girl's face grew a darker red, but her eyes regained some of its lost sparkle. She inched closer and placed the feather into his hands.

"So you'll accept?"

"Well, Claire. What else can I say but yes? I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"M-me too." He could feel the heat radiating from her face. It was so easy to make her blush, he mused.

"So what now?" the farmer bashfully asked.

"Well, technically I'm a thief, so I'm not leaving until I've stolen something," Skye offhandedly commented, smirking when Claire attempted to struggle out of his grasp.

"S-Skye, what are you doing?"

"Sorry, my dear, but you're just too irresistible right now."

He descended onto her lips with the same force as his maiden chick beam. Maybe it was the pent-up feelings he conjured over the past season, but Skye felt the need to pour all of his love into Claire. His experienced lips pressed against hers, and his farmer initially wriggled against him.

"Claire, you must stop squirming like that. You're making it look like you don't want me."

"I-I-I don't know what I'm doing," she admitted, sporting a bright shade of red. Skye once again laughed. That's his girl, getting flustered when things don't go her way. Maybe it's one side effect of being a farmer…

"Then leave everything to me. Just feel, Claire."

The next time he kissed her, he grabbed her still hands and wove them around his neck. The heat flooding her face was incredible, capable of shutting down her brain and letting her eyelids drop shut. Skye felt cold to her touch, but the way he made her body warm up like a furnace had her addicted. Before long, she was pushing back, and both got lost in a flurry of nips and kisses.

Claire could not stop moaning. When Skye broke away from her to catch his breath, she tackled his lips, wanting the wondrous, heat-generating rush to ignite again in her blood. They kissed again and again, savoring the long-awaited moment.

When they finally pulled away, the two of them chuckled loudly, dispelling all of their doubts, frustrations, and sadness away.

"Well, I have to go home now, Claire. We can talk about the wedding later," hesitantly said Skye. He truly didn't want to leave Claire alone, especially since they were engaged now, but there's unfinished business he must take care of before he can settle down with his wonderful farmer.

She nodded knowingly and offered a final kiss on his cheek.

"Alright, good night, Skye."

"Sweet dreams, Claire."

With one final two-fingered flick of his hand, he left the house, smiling brighter than he ever had in his life. And as for Claire, she watched him leave, clutching her rapidly beating heart. Her tear-soaked eyes watered once more, and she released a truly beautiful, radiant smile.

One that Skye happened to see over and over again for the rest of his life.

 **A.N. Thank you, everyone, for supporting me and my content for so long. I know that the delay of my chapters is agonizing, but a number of issues has prevented me from writing. As promised, there will be another chapter/edits for each of my multi-chaptered fanfictions. Review, favorite, and follow any of my stories, and I hope to see you in another one of my fanfictions.**

 **As for now, this is tale end.**


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